WITCH get Capsized
by AceNavalPilot
Summary: The girls and their husbands are on a luxury cruise when disaster strikes and the ship is capsized. Now they must escape the ship before it goes down! Rated M for slight language, character death and disaster scenes
1. The Trip Begins

Chapter 1:The Trip Begins July 21, 2010

It was a normal summer day in Heatherfield as 21-year-old Will Vandom and her husband Matt Olsen were entering the boarding area of the cruise ship terminal.

They were preparing to board the Poseidon II, a brand-new luxury cruise liner, for a 2-week Caribbean cruise. Little did they know that their friends were going along for the ride.

"I've been waiting for this for many years. I've always wanted to take a cruise." Will said as they walked along the gangway to board the 1,500ft long ship.

"Yeah, and today, that dream is now a reality." Matt replied as they got into the main lobby. Just then, Will and Matt heard a familiar voice calling their names.

They turned around and saw Taranee Cook running towards them, with her husband Nigel close behind. "Taranee! It's so good to see you again!" Will said as she hugged Taranee.

"Hey, how's the marriage thing going?" Nigel asked. "It's going great; I knew that she always wanted to take a cruise, so I figured that we could do that for our honeymoon." Matt replied.

"That's cool; me and Taranee are just here on vacation, to see the sights." Nigel replied. "Nice, well, Will and I are going to go find our stateroom, take care!" Matt said as they waved goodbye.

"So, how have things been going with you?" Will asked. "Great, Cornelia and Caleb just got out of college and are coming to celebrate their graduation." Taranee replied.

"Cool, I wonder if we'll run into them on this ship." Will replied. "Yeah, well, we gotta go find our cabin, see you later!" Taranee replied as they waved goodbye. Will and Matt later found their stateroom and went inside.

"Wow, I can get used to being in here for two weeks!" Will said as she lied down on the king-sized bed.

"Yeah, it's going to be two weeks of pure relaxation and fun." Matt replied as he sat on the bed next to Will.

"Yeah, it is." Will replied as she gave him a kiss. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Irma Lair and her husband Andrew had just boarded the ship five minutes later.

"Wow, I've always wanted to see the Caribbean!" Irma said as they got into an elevator in the main lobby to get to the deck on which their stateroom was located.

"Yeah, it's amazing how huge these ships get." Andrew replied. "Yeah, it looks so huge, we may have to use bike just to get to the other end." Irma joked as they got off of the elevator.

Just then, they saw 21-year-old Hay Lin sitting on a nearby bench, looking very worried. "Hey, what's the matter?" Irma asked as they sat down next to her.

"I'm worried that Eric may not make it here before we depart." Hay Lin asked. "Don't worry, he'll show up." Irma replied.

Just then, Hay Lin's cell phone began to vibrate. Hay Lin got it out and saw that the screen read that she got a new text message from her husband, Eric.

She checked the message, which read:

_I just got on board, where are you?_

Hay Lin was beaming as she sent her reply:

_I'm on the 5th deck from the bottom of the main lobby, by the elevator._

Five minutes later, Eric came off of the elevator, and ran in Hay Lin's arms. "Oh, Eric, I was worried that you might get left behind!" Hay Lin said as she gave him a kiss.

"Dear, I wouldn't miss this for anything." Eric replied with a smile.

Five minutes later, they all went up to the observation deck on the ship's stern to enjoy the fresh ocean air. When they got there, Cornelia, Caleb and Elyon were already on the end of the deck, by the railing.

"Cornelia! Caleb! Elyon! It's so good to see you again!" Irma said as she and Andrew went towards them.

"Irma! It's great to see you, too!" Cornelia said as she hugged Irma. "So, you excited about this?" Elyon asked.

"Yeah, I've always wanted to see the Caribbean Sea, I heard that it's so nice and warm!" Irma replied.

They were suddenly surprised when the horn blew, signaling its departure. Irma looked over the railing and could see the ship's huge anchor being raised.

The happy group watched as the ship's mooring lines were cast off and the ship began moving out of its docking berth.

Five minutes later, Poseidon II was leaving Heatherfield Harbor, headed for the Caribbean. "Wow, I never knew that the open ocean was so...peaceful." Hay Lin said as she stared out the window of her stateroom five hours later.

"Yeah, I can get used to two weeks of this." Eric replied as he put his arm around Hay Lin's shoulder. Hay Lin smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You wanna head up to the shopping area?" Eric asked after five minutes. "Sure, I'd love to!" Hay Lin replied happily as they went out the door.

Meanwhile, Cornelia and Caleb were already at the ship's shipping area. "Wow, this mall is bigger than any that I've been to on land!" Cornelia said as she looked around in amazement at the sheer size of the ships' mall.

"Come on, Cornelia! Let's go!" Caleb said as he grabbed her arm and they walked into the area.

On the observation deck, Irma and Andrew were at the railing at the edge of the deck enjoying the sight of the open ocean. "Wow...I've always wanted to see the open ocean. It's so...beautiful." Irma said as Andrew put his arm around her.

"Yeah, but not as beautiful as you, dear." Andrew replied as he pulled Irma closer to him. "Oh, Andrew!" Irma said as she planted a kiss on Andrew's lips.

Andrew returned the kiss and they stood there like that for thirty seconds before they broke the kiss. They looked back over the edge, and saw thick clouds concealing the setting sun over the horizon.

They stared in awe at the visible sunbeams coming out of the clouds as the sky around them began turning a bright orange-red color. "Wow, this is one of the best moments of my life." Irma said as they both watched the spectacular sunset.

Meanwhile, Taranee and Nigel were in the ship's nightclub having the time of their lives dancing to loud techno music. Will and Matt had just come into the club and were relaxing in the lounge area.

After a few minutes, a slow-dance song came on and Will and Matt stood up. "Hey, wanna dance?" Matt asked.

"Oh, Matt! I'd love to!" Will happily replied as Matt took her hand and they went to the dance floor. They slow-danced along with everyone else that was in the nightclub area.

Midway through the song, Will and Matt slowly leaned towards each other and held each other tight as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

When the next song began to play, Irma and Andrew came into the club ready to get their groove on.

Meanwhile, Cornelia and Caleb had finished exploring the ship's mall and were heading back to their stateroom. "So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Caleb asked as they got onto the deck on which their stateroom was located.

"I was thinking, maybe we can meet Irma, Elyon and Andrew in the sauna, to help us unwind." Cornelia replied.

Caleb blushed as he pictured them sitting in the ship's sauna together, wearing nothing but a towel around their bodies.

He shook the thought out of his head as they entered the hallway near their stateroom. "Shit!" Cornelia said as they were ten feet from the door of their stateroom.

"What is it, dear?" Caleb asked. "I forgot to get our pool pass in the lobby." Cornelia replied with a hint of frustration in her voice.

"Ok, we'll just head there now and get it." Caleb replied. "Ok, let's go." Cornelia replied as they began heading for the lobby.

Meanwhile, Hay Lin and Eric were enjoying a magic show in the ship's theater. _Wow, this guy is good!_ Hay Lin thought as she watched the illusionist make a motorcycle disappear.

The next trick they saw was the famous yet dangerous "Blades of Death" trick. Hay Lin stared wide-eyed as the illusionist was strapped to a large platform over which hung five huge saw blades.

The assistant threw a switch that caused the blades to start spinning. Hay Lin and Eric were speechless as the blades began to slowly descend towards the platform.

Hay Lin, as well as nearly all of the other audience members, gasped when the huge spinning blades fell onto the platform.

They then saw a bright flash and a cloud of smoke appear next to the platform. They were stunned when the illusionist came walking out of the smoke cloud unharmed! The whole audience burst into applause, for that was the end of the show.

Little did anyone know that their night of fun was about to become a night of terror.


	2. Disaster Strikes

Chapter 2: Disaster Strikes

Hay Lin and Eric had just returned to their stateroom after the magic show and were fast asleep.

Will, Matt, Taranee and Nigel were still in the ship's nightclub dancing the night away.

Cornelia and Caleb were in the lobby getting their access pass for the ship's pool and spa area.

Irma and Andrew were in the ship's mall walking around and enjoying the atmosphere.

"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" Andrew asked.

"I don't know, maybe we can take a dip in the outdoor pool." Irma replied. "Sounds good, we can do that." Andrew happily replied.

Elyon had been exploring the ship's observation decks, enjoying the sight of the night sky.

Meanwhile, in the ship's bridge, the bridge lookout was looking around for anything that can affect the ship's course.

"No...!" he said as he stared wide-eyed into his binoculars towards the left side of the ship. What he saw terrified him: a huge wave at least 110 feet high was coming straight towards the ship at high speed!

"HARD TO PORT, PORT SIDE ENGINES FULL ASTERN!!" the lookout ordered. "Port side engines, full astern!" a crew member replied as he pulled the left-side engine speed levers to "FULL ASTERN".

At the same time, another crew member activated the bow thrusters and directed them to turn the ship's bow to the left.

"Come on, turn, TURN!!" the lookout muttered as he stared at the navigation display, which showed the ship turning to the left.

"Sound the general alarm!" another crew member ordered as another pressed the general alarm button.

Cornelia and Caleb were heading back to their stateroom when the alarm began to sound. "All crew members report to your emergency stations immediately, this is not a drill! All passengers brace for immediate and heavy rolling!" the captain announced on the ship's PA system.

"Oh, no! We'd better hang on!" Cornelia said as she and Caleb braced themselves against the hallway wall. In the nightclub, the music was so loud that no one could hear the alarm, that is, until the music was shut off.

"What do we do?!" Taranee asked in a concerned voice as some of the others began rushing around in a panic. "I don't know, we should just stay calm until we find out what's going on!" Nigel replied.

The captain's announcement was repeated every thirty to forty seconds.

In the mall area, Irma and Andrew were rushing into the nearest exit, which lead to the nightclub.

Meanwhile, the alarm stirred Hay Lin and Eric from their sleep and they sat up looking around."What's going on?" Hay Lin asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good!" Eric replied. Elyon rushed back to her stateroom, which was in the interior of the ship.

Meanwhile, in the bridge, the crew members watched as the wave came closer and closer by the second. Hay Lin and Eric went to the balcony of their stateroom to see if anything happened. They were both shocked to see the wave coming right at the ship!

"Oh, shit! We gotta go, NOW!!!" Eric said as he and Hay Lin rushed out of the stateroom and towards the hallway in the center of the ship. They braced themselves against the wall and prepared for the inevitable.

One minute later, all hell broke loose as the crest of the wave struck the top row of stateroom balconies on the ship's port side. The trough of the huge wave slammed into the hull of the ship.

The crew members in the bridge were thrown off their feet by the force of the impact. They began sliding down the floor as the ship began to roll. Elyon was struggling to stay upright as the floor tilted at an insane angle. _Oh no, what's happening?!_ She thought as she found herself standing on the wall, which was still tilting.

Meanwhile, the nightclub was in chaos as the ship rolled onto its right side. The structure with the colored lights mounted on it fell down as the ship continued to roll. Will and Matt narrowly avoided getting hit as passengers and debris tumbled around them.

Cornelia and Caleb were thrown against the wall and onto the ceiling as the ship rolled past the upside-down point. Irma and Andrew had just ran into the nightclub when the wave hit, and were now laying on the wall as the ship finally stopped rolling, resting on its left side.

Elyon had narrowly avoided being hit by debris and was shocked to see that she was standing on her stateroom's _door_! After a few seconds, the ship began rolling again, but in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Andrew slid along the ceiling of the nightclub and into the light structure, which pinned his legs down, rendering him unable to move. When the rolling finally stopped for good, the ship was upside down. The lights flickered out as small explosions erupted inside.

Ten seconds later, the emergency generators kicked in and the lights flickered back on. Cornelia and Caleb had been knocked out when the ship rolled over.

Two minutes later, they regained consciousness and were shocked by what they saw around them. "Holy...we're upside down!" Caleb said when he noticed that the floor was now above them. "Yeah, that can mean only one thing." Cornelia realized.

"What?" Caleb asked.

"It means that this ship has been capsized!" Cornelia said. "Where are the others?" Caleb asked.

"I don't know, but we need to find them and get the hell out of here!" Cornelia replied as they headed towards the nightclub, which was now one deck above them instead of below.

Meanwhile, Hay Lin and Eric were rushing towards the nightclub because they knew that the others were there. "I hope the others are OK!" Hay Lin said as they reached the nightclub entrance.

"Yeah, me too!" Eric replied as they went in. What they saw horrified them. Debris was scattered all over and the area was littered with bodies of unfortunate passengers that did not survive the capsizing.

The ceiling had many puddles of water from broken sprinklers all over and some of them had broken wires sparking dangerously close to them. "We'd better avoid those, they can give us a deadly shock!" Eric said as they carefully navigated through the carnage.

Just then, they heard a voice calling for help. "Come on, he sounds like he's in trouble!" Eric said as they rushed towards the voice's origin.

"CAN SOMEBODY GET THIS DAMN THING OFF ME?!" the voice called out. Hay Lin and Eric got to the area and saw that Andrew was pinned by the light machine. "Oh my, are you OK?" Hay Lin asked.

"Where's Irma? I need to know if she's OK?" Andrew asked. "I'll find her, you stay here and help him." Hay Lin said as she went to search for Irma.

Meanwhile, Irma was looking around for Andrew, unaware that he was in serious trouble. "ANDREW! ANDREW, WHERE ARE YOU?!" she called out in desperation.

"IRMA!" Hay Lin's voice called out from her left. Irma saw Hay Lin coming towards her, a look of desperation on her eyes.

"Hay Lin! Do you know where Andrew is?" Irma asked. "Yeah, he's pinned down by the light machine! Eric's trying to get him out!" Hay Lin replied as they rushed over.

"Oh my...Andrew, dear, are you OK?!" Irma asked when she saw Andrew's condition. "I am now that I know you're OK." Andrew replied.

"OK, let's get him out of this." Irma said as they grabbed a part of the light machine. "On three, one...two...three!" Irma instructed as they tried to lift the machine at once.

Unfortunately, it was too heavy and they could only hold it up and inch before it became too much. "OK, let's try this again, one...two...three!" Irma said as they attempted to lift the light structure again.

Unfortunately, it proved to be too much and they were still unable to lift it high enough for Andrew to get himself out. "This isn't going to work, we need more help!" Hay Lin said.

Just then, Taranee and Nigel noticed their situation. "Uh oh! Looks like they need help!" Nigel said as they carefully rushed towards them.

"Yeah, looks like Andrew's in a tight spot!" Taranee replied. "Taranee, Nigel, thank goodness you two are OK!" Hay Lin said as Taranee and Nigel got into position.

"Yeah, it looks like you guys could use a hand." Taranee replied as they got a good grip on the bars. "OK, on three! One...two...three!" Irma instructed as they all tried to lift it with all their might.

Unfortunately, it still did not work. "OK, maybe we can pry it off with something." Taranee suggested. "Good idea, let's find something we can use to pry it!" Eric said as they began searching for a suitable object that can be used as a pry bar.

Nigel managed to find a support bar that had a bend in the end. "Will this work?" he asked. "Perfect, that should do it!" Irma replied. Taranee had managed to find a speaker that they could use as a leverage point.

The men positioned the bar on top of the speaker and wedged it under the light machine. Taranee and Hay Lin positioned themselves by the machine and got ready to lift. Irma grabbed the end of the bar and got ready to push down.

"On three; one...two...three!" Irma ordered as they all pushed down on the bar. The others began lifting with all their might at the same time and finally they managed to lift the light machine up. Andrew quickly slid his legs out from under it before the others dropped it.

"We did it!" Taranee said as Andrew struggled to stand up. "Are you OK?" Irma asked as she helped Andrew up.

"I think I may have a couple of cuts, but I'll manage. Just then, Will and Matt came up to them. "WILL! You're OK!" Taranee said in excitement as she hugged Will.

"Are you guys OK?" Matt asked. "Yeah, Andrew was in a tight spot, but we got him out." Irma replied.

"Do you know where Cornelia and Caleb are?" Will asked. "No, I don't know where Elyon is, either." Irma replied as a tear formed in her eye. "Don't worry, we'll find them." Andrew said as he wiped away her tear.

"Yeah, we will." Irma replied with a hopeful smile.

Meanwhile, Elyon was shocked to see that she was standing on the ceiling of her stateroom. _I'd better head to the nightclub and see if the others are OK!_ She thought as she went out of her stateroom.

Eventually, she found herself in the lobby, and was shocked to see that water was beginning to fill the area below. She quickly found the door that would lead to the nightclub, where most of the others were located.

Meanwhile, Cornelia and Caleb had found an elevator shaft that was open. "We need to find a way to get up there." Caleb said pointing to an open elevator door one deck above them.

"Hey, maybe this could work!" Cornelia said as she grabbed an end of a long silver bench. Caleb grabbed another part and together, they managed to shove it so that the other end would catch onto the ledge on the other side of the shaft.

"Looks like it'll hold!" Cornelia said as they began to carefully walk along the bench.

Above them, they could see the elevator car dangling precariously as a fire raged below them.

"Gimme a boost up." Caleb said as Cornelia bent down carefully. Caleb stepped onto Cornelia's shoulders as she stood up, allowing Caleb to reach the ledge. Cornelia reached up and pushed Caleb's feet with her hands, making it easier for Caleb to pull himself up.

"Come on!" Caleb said as he turned around and reached his hand out to Cornelia. She took his hand and he pulled her up into the corridor leading to the lobby.

Meanwhile, the others were heading towards the lobby to find a way out. After leaving the nightclub, they saw Elyon running towards them.

"ELYON!!" Irma said as they rushed towards her. "IRMA!!" Elyon shouted with joy as she ran towards the others, happy tears building up in her eyes.

Elyon and Irma ran into each other's arms and nearly cried. "I'm so glad you're OK!" Elyon said. "I'm glad you're OK, too!" Irma replied as she wiped away her tears.

"Do you know where Cornelia and Caleb are?" Elyon asked. "No, we couldn't find them anywhere, but I'm sure they're OK." Irma replied. "Now what do we do?" Will asked.

"Now, we need to find a way to get off this ship." Taranee replied. Hay Lin and the others found a map of the ship's decks and studied it to try and figure out an escape route.

"I've got it, if we go up through the lobby and head towards the bow, we can escape through the bow thruster tubes!" Andrew suggested.

"Good idea, let's do it!" Irma replied. Now that they had a solid escape plan, the group began making their way to the lobby to begin their dangerous trek to the bow thruster room.

Unfortunately, some of them will not survive the dangers that lie ahead.


	3. The Escape Part One

Chapter 3: The Escape (Part One)

The group made their way down the corridor as they began their escape attempt. "Hey, Elyon, what's on the other end of this corridor?" Hay Lin asked.

"That was the lobby." Elyon replied. They got to the door and opened it, and were shocked by the sight in front of them. One of the elevator tracks was bent over, stretching to the other side three decks up.

"Now what do we do?" Will asked. "Now we climb." Taranee replied.

"Over that? Are you nuts?!" Hay Lin asked in disbelief. "Yeah, I don't know if it will hold with us on it." Matt replied.

"I don't think we have a choice, so we'll just have to go a couple at at time." Elyon replied. "OK, so who will go first?" Eric asked.

Just then a nearby door opened and Cornelia and Caleb came out and started running towards them. "CORNELIA, CALEB!!!" Irma yelled when she saw them coming. "GUYS!" Cornelia called out in relief as she hugged Irma.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Elyon said as she rushed over to hug Cornelia.

"Please tell me we're not going over that!" Cornelia said when she saw the others looking at the bent elevator track.

"We have no choice, we'll die if we stay here and the only way to go is up." Will replied. "I'll go, I weigh the most, so if I can make it, we all can make it across." Caleb said.

"Wait...I'll be right behind you." Cornelia said as she realized that there really was no alternative. Caleb began crawling along the mangled steel track. He got halfway across within two minutes and noticed no problems.

"IT'S GONNA HOLD!!" he called out to the others as he continued crawling across. Cornelia then began to make her way across the dangerous makeshift bridge. "Don't worry, I'll be behind you." Elyon said as Cornelia reached the halfway point.

Elyon then began to make her way across. "Wow, I'm amazed that it's still holding up." Will said as Cornelia finished the dangerous crossing, with Elyon not far behind. The others began the dangerous crossing two at a time.

Ten minutes later, a loud bang was heard as Eric reached the halfway point. "What the hell was that?" Hay Lin asked.

They got their answer as a component of the ship's power plant came crashing through the floor above, and into the elevator track, while Eric was still on it! "EEEEEEERIIIIIIIIIIIIC!!!!!!!!!!!!" Hay Lin screamed as she and the others watched the shocking event unfold.

As they watched, fuel began spilling from the hole and into the floodwaters below. They were forced to take cover as the spilling fuel was ignited by sparks from broken wires down below.

Hay Lin braved the heat and rushed to the edge to see what was happening, but sadly, Eric was killed instantly when the power unit fell directly on top of him, taking the elevator track down with it.

"No..." Hay Lin said in pure shock as tears began building up in her eyes. "Come on, Hay Lin, let's go!" Irma called out as Hay Lin ran to catch up to them.

They went into the nearby corridor and sat down to rest. Hay Lin then buried her face in her hands and burst into tears. "Hey, I'm sorry about Eric, he was a nice guy." Elyon said as she sat next to Hay Lin.

Hay Lin looked up at Elyon and hugged her. "Yeah...*sniff*...I just can't believe that I lost him!" Hay Lin replied as she cried on Elyon's shoulder. "Come on, we have to keep moving." Will said in a soothing voice as the group got up again.

"Where are we now?" Irma asked. Andrew looked at a nearby deck map for the answer. "We're about halfway between the lobby and the theater, so we need to go down a few more decks before we can reach the bow thruster room." Andrew replied.

They reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in another galley. Parts of the galley were in flames, which were slowly spreading.

"Hey, there's an elevator shaft!" Will reported. Caleb managed to force the doors open and looked around. "How do we get up there?" Irma asked, pointing to a set of doors on the next level up.

"Hey, we can use this!" Taranee said, pointing to a large bench table lying nearby. "OK, let's get it across." Will said as they lifted the bench and carried it to the elevator shaft.

They placed it across the shaft onto a ledge on the other side. "OK, it should hold." Nigel said as he and Caleb held the bench in place. Andrew went up first, with Irma close behind.

"Here, I'll boost you up." Irma said as she sat down and held out her hands together. Andrew put his foot on Irma's hands and reached up to the edge. Irma lifted up and Andrew was able to get into the open door.

"OK, I'm going to pull you up!" Andrew said as Irma reached up to grab his hand. Above them, the elevator car was hanging precariously, its emergency brakes getting close to failing.

"Come on, we gotta hurry!" Andrew said as Caleb went to the end of the bench to help the others up. Elyon went up next, followed by Will, Matt, Taranee and Nigel.

When Hay Lin was pulled up, a small bang was heard coming from the galley. "Oh no!" Matt said. "What is it?" Will asked.

"The fires in the galley are spreading, we've gotta hurry." Matt replied.

Unknown to them, a natural gas line had broken in the area, and it was only a matter of time before the gas would reach one of the fires and ignite. Cornelia was pulled up next, just as the elevator car began falling!

Fortunately, the car caught on something and stopped just a few feet from the open doors. The vibrations from the event caused the bench to dislodge, just as Andrew was about to pull Caleb up.

"HANG ON!" Matt said as he tried to maintain a grip. Matt's hand was sweating from the heat of the fires and Caleb's hand was starting to slip. "Shit! I can't hold him for long, I need help!" Andrew called out as Cornelia rushed to help.

"Hang on, dear, I've got you!" Cornelia said as she took Caleb's other hand. Above them, the elevator was about to fall again and with the gas leak, they were running out of time!

"Go on, save yourselves; there's no time to save me." Caleb said as he realized that time was running out.

"What?! NO, WE CAN SAVE YOU!!!" Cornelia said in desperation as small explosions rang out in the galley. "IT'S TOO LATE! THIS WHOLE AREA'S GOING TO BLOW! EITHER I GO OR WE ALL DIE!" Caleb yelled.

"COME ON, CALEB! WE CAN GET YOU OUT!!" Irma yelled when she saw what was happening. "NO! It's too late for that! I'm really proud to have known you all; take care." Caleb said.

"I...I will." Irma replied tearfully, realizing that the situation was out of her hands.

With that, Caleb released his grip and fell down the shaft, just as the elevator car was beginning to fall.

"CALEB!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cornelia yelled as she watched her husband fall to an instant death seven decks below at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Andrew and Cornelia managed to get out of the way just in time as the car rushed past them down the shaft at high speed.

At the same time, the fires in the galley were beginning to flare up.

"SHIT! SHUT THE DOORS!!" Andrew ordered as the fires began to spread rapidly.

Matt, Nigel, and Andrew managed to get the doors shut just as the galley erupted into a flash fire from the igniting gas leak.

Thirty seconds later, Cornelia shoved the doors open, using a nearby blanket to prevent her hands from burned by the now-hot metal.

She stared down the shaft, which was now on fire in some places. "I'm sorry, but he did it to save the rest of us." Elyon said to Cornelia a minute later.

"I know...I...I just wish he didn't have to!" Cornelia said as she burst into tears on Elyon's shoulder. Hay Lin and Irma also hugged each other and cried hard.


	4. The Escape Part Two

Chapter 4: The Escape (Part Two)

Thirty seconds later, a loud creaking sound caused everybody to become dead silent. "We've got to keep moving." Andrew said as they began walking again.

"Yeah, you're right." Irma replied as she wiped her tears from her cheeks. Elyon looked back at the elevator shaft where Caleb died one last time.

"Goodbye, Caleb; we will never forget you." she said silently before rejoining the others.

They went down the corridor and found themselves in one of the ship's restaurants. Andrew found another door nearby and stood there thinking.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Irma asked when she noticed this. "I know that this door is the way out, but I'm thinking about what could be behind it." Andrew replied.

Taranee approached the door and reached out to grab the handle. Andrew grabbed her arm and stopped her just before her fingers touched the handle. "Easy there, Pyro Girl!" Andrew said.

He grabbed a water bottle, opened it and splashed the contents onto the door handles. The others watched in shock as the water sizzled and instantly turned into steam upon contact with the door handles.

"Wow, you saved me from getting third-degree burns!" Taranee said in relief. "What do you think?" Matt asked.

"I'm thinking...flash fire." Andrew replied. Nigel came up with a fire extinguisher, ready to use it if needed. Andrew grabbed a nearby mop and used it to push the doors open.

Inside, the corridor was covered with a layer of black soot, with only one or two small fires flickering about. "Flash fire." Andrew said as they walked in.

They walked down the corridor and found a dead end. "Now what?" Hay Lin asked. The others looked around for a way out.

"Hey, there's a ventilation shaft here!" Will said as she pointed out a ventilation shaft nearby.

"It'll work; it can take us up." Andrew replied. Matt crawled in first and looked around. He saw that one part of the shaft went up and another went down.

Matt was horrified to see water in the bottom of the shaft that was rising. "We can go up this way but we better hurry because the bottom of the shaft is flooded and the water's rising." Matt reported.

"OK, let's go!" Will replied as she went in after him. Matt stood on Will's shoulders as she stood on Elyon's shoulders. "I can see the top! I need a little more height to reach it!" Matt said.

Andrew came in and had Elyon stand on his shoulders. Matt grabbed the edge of the open vent and managed to climb up.

Irma then crawled into the shaft, followed by Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin.

Meanwhile, an explosion rang out in the submerged top deck of the ship, causing water to gush in. As a result, the ship slipped slightly lower, and the large windows of the ship's mall were starting to crack under the increasing pressure of the surrounding ocean.

Back in the shaft, Will and the others felt a sudden vibration coming from below them. "What the hell was that?" Matt asked.

"Something must have blown up on the top decks." Andrew replied.

At this point, Irma noticed that the water was getting close to them. "Uh, guys! We need to speed things up a bit, the water's rising fast!" Irma shouted up the shaft. Matt had just pulled Will out of the vent.

"OK!" he said as he pulled Elyon out. Nigel was the last to go into the shaft and the water went halfway up the bottom vent.

"Oh, shit! The water's starting to flood the shaft!" Nigel said as the others pulled Andrew out of the shaft.

The water rose faster and was halfway up the shaft in approximately a minute. "Hang on, we'll get you out of here!" Matt shouted back as he pulled Irma up and out.

At this point, the vent below them was now under three feet of water, which was still rising. Nigel, Hay Lin and Cornelia found themselves up to their necks on the water.

The others pulled them out as the water got close to the shaft. Meanwhile, the cracking windows of the mall were on the brink of giving way.

The passengers that were inside watched in horror as the windows burst under the strain., causing water to gush inside in massive torrents. The entire mall was fully flooded within seconds, killing everyone instantly.

Meanwhile, the group found themselves in another corridor two decks up. They walked down and found a door at the end. They opened the door and came up to a stairwell that was flooded.

"Now what?" Andrew asked. "Looks like we have no choice but to swim through." Irma replied. "OK, I'll go first." Will said as she held her breath and jumped in.

Elyon and Irma dove in after her, followed by Matt, Nigel, Taranee, Andrew, Hay Lin and Cornelia. They swam down to the next level and reached another stairway where they surfaced.

Unfortunately, part of Cornelia's shirt snagged on a sharp piece of metal that jutted out from the wall. Cornelia realized that she could not swim forward and began struggling desperately to get moving.

During her desperate struggle, she banged her head on the floor above her and was knocked out instantly.

Meanwhile, the others made it to the other side and got out of the water. "Hey, where's Cornelia?" Elyon asked.

"I don't know, she was right behind me when we began swimming across." Hay Lin replied. "Oh, no..." Irma said as she realized that something must have happened.

She dove in and headed for Cornelia, who was on the floor motionless. Irma got to her and grabbed her by the waist. She then swam back to where the others were waiting.

When she got to the end, she came out with Cornelia lying limp in her arms. The others gasped at the shocking sight. Irma gently laid Cornelia down and sat nervously as Andrew started an attempt to resuscitate her.

"Come on, breathe! BREATHE!" Andrew said as he made several unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate Cornelia. "Corny..." Irma said as tears built up in her eyes. The other girls were getting misty-eyed as well.

Finally, after fifteen unsuccessful attempts, Andrew knew that he had no choice but to accept it; Cornelia was dead. "I'm sorry guys, she's gone." Andrew said grimly although the others had already figured it out.

Just then, Elyon came up to Irma and hugged her as they started crying hard. Taranee and Hay Lin also cried in each other's arms.

Will fell into Matt's arms and began sobbing on his shoulder. "She was a great friend to all of us!" Will said after two minutes.

"Yeah, she was my best friend!" Elyon replied.

"I loved her like a sister!" Irma said.

"Come on, we have to keep moving." Andrew said as they got up and wiped their tears. They went up the stairway and found a door marked, "Crew Access Only".

Just then, they felt the ship lurch and creek as the flooding of the mall took its toll. "We're running out of time, where's the bow thruster room?" Will asked.

"It should be about two more decks up." Andrew replied. They went through the door and found themselves in another corridor.

The entire corridor was covered in a layer of black soot. There were many scorched bodies lying around the corridor. "There must have been a flash fire here." Irma said.

"Yeah, sucks to be them, it must superheated the air, which burned their lungs like tissue paper." Taranee replied. Andrew looked at another deck map of the ship.

"OK, if we head this way, we should be able to reach another stairwell which will take us right to the bow thruster room." Andrew reported.

"OK, let's go!" Irma replied. "OK, but it also takes us through the forward electrical room, so we'll have to be careful." Andrew said.

"OK, we can take the risk." Matt replied. They reached the stairwell and climbed up. They reached the electrical room, which was a mess.

"There's a lot of exposed wires here, we should tread carefully." Irma said, pointing out a bunch of exposed wires that were sparking all over the place. There were also many puddles of water all over the area, turning the floor into an electrical hazard.

Unknown to Matt, the puddle he was walking in was dangerously close to an exposed wire. The ship lurched again as the flooding increased. The wire then fell into the puddle that Matt was walking in.

Matt nearly lost his balance when the ship lurched, his hand touching the metal wall in the process. As a result, Matt unknowingly became part of an electrical circuit and began convulsing uncontrollably as the current surged through his body.

"MATT!!!" Will yelled as she saw Matt's situation. She tried to grab his hand, but began feeling the shock and pulled away involuntarily. Within ten seconds, he was on the floor, dead.

"MATT, NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Will shouted as the others went out of the room.


	5. Getting Out

Chapter 5: Getting Out

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Taranee said as she dragged Will out of the room. Will struggled as she tried to reach Matt, but it was too late.

"Will, WILL!!! IT'S TOO LATE, HE'S GONE!!!!" Taranee yelled as she tried to get Will to calm down. "NO, HE CAN'T BE GONE, HE CAN'T!!!" Will yelled as tears flew from her face.

"He...can't...be gone!" Will said silently as she sat down and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, but there was nothing we could do. If there was something we could have done, we would have, but there wasn't, I'm sorry." Taranee said as Will cried on her shoulder.

They were in another corridor which seemed to slope down. The other end was flooded and thus, inaccessible. "Well, that's it." Andrew said grimly.

"That's the way to the bow thruster room?" Irma asked. "Yeah, but it's underwater, we can't reach it." Andrew replied.

"OK, we just need to find another way out." Hay Lin said.

Meanwhile, the engine room was on fire and was close to exploding. One part of the engines broke off and fell, causing its fuel to spill out. The fuel was then ignited by the fires, triggering a large explosion, which ignited the rest of the fuel, causing the entire room to explode, causing huge amounts of water to flood in through the hole. This caused the ship's stern to slip slightly lower into the ocean.

Andrew and the others felt the vibrations from the explosion as the water from the end of the corridor surged straight towards them!

"OH, SHIT!!" Irma yelled as she and the others went into the other corridor connecting the other one to escape the surge. The water went into the end of the corridor from which they came in.

The electrical room, where Matt was electrocuted was completely flooded within seconds. Once the intensity of the surge died down, Andrew looked and saw that the way to the bow thruster room was now dry.

"All right, our way out is clear!" he said as he ran out towards it, the others following close behind him. They reached the end of the corridor and Andrew opened the door. On the other side was none other than the bow thruster room!

"Finally, we made it!" Taranee said as they stepped inside. They looked up and saw the massive tubes that contained the bow thruster propellers, and the way out.

"All right, we just have to open that hatch, climb into the tube and the only thing between us and getting out is NOTHING WHATSOEVER!!" Andrew said as they approached the nearest tube.

Nigel felt intense vibrations coming from the struts that supported the tube. Andrew went up to try to open the access hatch. "Oh, no...Andrew, WAIT, DON'T!!" he shouted just as Andrew put his hands on the hatch's handle.

But it was too late, Andrew turned the handle and the hatch flew open at lightning speed, smashing into his face. Andrew fell to the floor unconscious as a huge rush of air blast rushed in at high speed.

"ANDREW!!!!" Irma shouted as she ran to Andrew's side. "THE PROPS MUST STILL BE RUNNING, WE NEED TO SHUT THEM OFF!!!!" Nigel shouted over the noise.

"OK, WE NEED TO FIND THE CONTROL PANEL!!!" Irma replied as she tended to Andrew's injuries. "I think the control panel's down there." Nigel said as he pointed to a nearby passageway.

Will and Taranee looked to find that it was underwater. "Great, it's flooded, we'll have to swim through." Taranee said.

"What? It's like 160 feet of water, you can't make it there and back in one breath!" Nigel said.

"Yeah, I know, but I'm the best swimmer out of all of us, I have the best chance of making it!" Will replied. "WILL, NO, YOU CAN'T GO!!!" Taranee said as she hugged Will.

"I have to, otherwise we all go down with the ship! I'm sorry, but it's the only way." Will said as Taranee began crying in Will's arms.

"I'll never forget you, Will; you'll always be my best friend!" Taranee said as Will broke the embrace. The others went up to where Will and Taranee were.

"I'll never forget you, either, I'm very proud to have known you all." Will said to the rest as she took the biggest breath she could and dove in.

Will swam as fast as she could towards the bow thruster control panel. _It's gotta be here somewhere!_ She thought a minute later as she got close to the control panel.

Meanwhile, Taranee was crying hard on Nigel's shoulder. "I can't believe she actually did it!" Hay Lin said as she fell into Irma's arms and cried.

Irma broke down and cried on Hay Lin's shoulder. "She was a brave friend, a strong, selfless woman who always did the right thing!" Hay Lin replied. "I know, she always helped us in the past like she's helping us now!" Irma replied tearfully.

"WE'LL NEVER FORGET YOU, WILL!!!!!" the girls said at once.

Meanwhile, Will was looking at the control panel looking for the emergency shut-off switch. Suddenly, she began convulsing as her breath began running out.

She finally found the emergency shutoff button as she began to lose strength. With her last bit of energy, she pressed the button just before she lost consciousness and drowned.

Meanwhile, the girls stopped crying and looked up as the noise of the props began to die down. "Hey guys, listen!" Andrew said as the propellers slowed down.

Nigel went into the tube and looked around to see the propellers coming to a complete stop. "Hey guys, the propellers stopped, she did it!" Nigel said as he peeked his head out from the tube.

"Way to go, Will!" Taranee said silently as she followed Nigel into the tube. The others went into the tube and walked along it. They went around the propeller blades and to the edge of the hull.

"Wow, I'm so glad to finally see the sky again!" Irma said. "Yeah, we all are." Andrew replied.

They all jumped down from the tube and into the open water one at a time. They surfaced and swam to an emergency life raft that was floating nearby.

They all finally got to rest now that they were finally out of the ship. Suddenly, the ship began to roll towards the raft.

"Oh, shit, MOVE!!!!!" Andrew yelled as he and Irma grabbed a pair of oars that were stowed in a pocket on the raft. They began rowing as fast as possible as the ship rolled onto its port side.

The resulting waves helped push the raft away from the doomed ship. As the ship rolled, the stern began slipping into the water. Half of the ship was already underwater by the time it went right-side up.

As the survivors watched, the Poseidon II slipped beneath the waves stern-first. After the ship went down, everyone was dead-silent.

"Some cruise THIS was!" Irma said.

"Yeah, but we lost many great friends tonight: Will, Caleb, Cornelia, Matt and Eric!" Hay Lin said as tears built up in her eyes.

"Yeah, Eric, Matt and Cornelia's deaths were unfortunate accidents, but Caleb and Will gave their lives so we could escape from the ship." Taranee replied as she started crying in Nigel's arms.

Andrew found the raft's flare gun and loaded it. "OK, everybody ready?" Andrew asked as he pointed the gun into the air.

"FLARE!!!" Andrew shouted as he fired the gun, which launched a bright red flare into the night sky. The flare exploded into a blindingly bright red glow as it floated down.

The flare burned out after a minute, and the survivors watched the skies in hope. Ten minutes later, they saw a pair of bright lights approaching them from the horizon.

"Hey guys, you see that?" Irma said as she spotted the lights. "Yeah, I see them, they're rescue helicopters!" Taranee replied.

The others shouted in excitement and some of them shed tears of joy as a pair of MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters flew towards the raft. The survivors had to shield their eyes when the spotlights shone on them.

The survivors waved their arms as the helicopters descended for the rescue. The cabin door of one helicopter opened as the rescue winch lowered its cord towards the raft.

The survivors were lifted one by one into the helicopter. "Is that everyone?" the cabin crew member asked Andrew. "Yeah, we're the only ones." Andrew replied.

When the last survivor was lifted into the helicopter, the door was closed and the helicopters flew off towards their ship, USS Nimitz, which was coming to San Diego from the Gulf during the last phase of the pullout of Iraq.


	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

After arriving in San Diego, the survivors went back to Heatherfield to unwind from their deadly ordeal.

A memorial service for the passengers and crew who perished, including Matt, Eric, Cornelia, Caleb and Will, was held in Heatherfield a week later.

It turns out that the Poseidon II was struck by a rogue wave that had formed in the open ocean.

A total of 3,000 passengers and 500 crew members were on board the luxury liner when the incident occurred.

This puts the total death toll at 3,494 passengers and crew members.

It was an unfortunate accident that cost many lives caused by a freak natural event.

The ship was located approximately 900 miles from the coast when the rogue wave hit.

The End


End file.
